


Back to You

by Swim2520



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Betty and Archie have a lot of demons, Developing Relationship, F/M, Male-Female Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, They are working on them, other characters not mentioned in tags, together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29648568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swim2520/pseuds/Swim2520
Summary: "You can break my heart in two, but when it heals it beats for you."It had taken them both years to realize that they were meant to be together. It took them seven more years to realize that, no matter what happened, the only person that they wanted to be with was each other. AU Barchie after 5x04.Based on the song Back to You by Selena Gomez
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, in this AU, Archie and Betty kept in touch during the seven year time jump and even dated but broke up. There will be some events that take place in canon, but it will mostly be background. The focus will be on Barchie and how they grow back together after the events that drove them apart, but will contain plenty of appearances from other characters.

The first person that Archie called was Betty. 

Out of the three phone calls that he had to make, he knew that it would be the easiest phone call to make. Archie had not spoken to Jughead or Veronica in seven years and they had not left under good terms. Yes, he was calling them to get their help to save Riverdale, but Archie also knew that they all had a lot of history to work through that college and adulthood had gotten in the way of. 

Even though they had not left on great terms the last time that they were together, Betty still picked up the phone after a few rings. 

_ “Archie? Are you okay?” _

“Yeah, I’m all good, Betty,” Archie replied, instantly feeling a lot more relaxed than he had when he woke up in a military hospital in the States instead of an infirmary in Afghanistan. Her voice was like a balm to the gaping wound over his heart. 

_ “I thought you were still on tour.” _

“My tour is over, Betts. As of a day ago, I have been honorably discharged from the Army. I still have a few years to spend in the Reserves, but I’m no longer active duty.”

_ “So, what are your plans now?” _ Betty asked. Archie was grateful that she skipped over how being honorably discharged made him feel. The Army was all that Archie had known for the past seven years. Returning to civilian life was not something that he was really prepared for. 

“My CO wants me to start the ROTC unit at Riverdale High back up, which actually brings me up to why I’m calling...you need to come back to Riverdale.”

_ “I can be there sometime tomorrow-probably late afternoon, early evening,” _ she replied immediately, not even questioning why Archie was asking her to uproot her life and return to a town that they all had but up and abandoned seven years ago. It said a lot that she was willing to just drop everything because he asked to (and she didn’t even know the exact reason why), but that was Betty Cooper. Always ready to help everyone else. And Archie was willing to admit that he selfishly needed that help right now. 

“I’ll see you then, Betty. Hey...uh…maybe while you’re in town we could talk about what happened before my last tour,” Archie said, running a hand through his hair. 

And there it was. 

The giant elephant between them. 

Besides his mother, Betty was the only person that Archie consistently kept in touch with from Riverdale. 

Unknown to everyone in Riverdale, including their mothers, Betty and Archie had been seeing each other on and off for the past three years. For the first five years, they had both carefully toed the line between friendship and something more. Something changed after Archie’s second tour. 

Truthfully, they had both been struggling with the job. Archie was struggling to cope with the death of a close friend that died the day before they were supposed to go on leave and Betty was struggling to cope with a harrowing case that killed her mentor at the FBI. When Archie returned to the States, he and Betty got dinner, got drunk, and ended up in bed together. 

It was hardly the best way to start a relationship, but they both found comfort from their demons with each other, which was all they really needed at the time. They kept it going even when Archie had to leave again for Afghanistan.

Things came to a crashing halt right before Archie’s final tour. They parted on animable terms, but with the knowledge that their romantic relationship was over. At least on Betty’s part. Archie knew from the moment that they got together that Betty was it for him. There was  _ no one else _ for him, even if that meant he spent the rest of his life alone. 

_ “Archie…” _

“Before you say no, Betty, please listen to me.” Archie heard her sigh on the other end of the line, but he knew that was a sign that she was listening. “We never talked about what happened, even  _ after _ it actually happened. I want to make that right.”

_ “The Archie Andrews I know would never talk about his feelings willingly. What’s changed?” _

“Is this you promising that we’ll get to talk?”

_ “Maybe. I need to think about it.” _

“Thank you.”

_ “Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t agreed to anything yet.” _ That was a lie. They both knew that Betty  _ had _ agreed to it the moment that she didn’t immediately hang up on him. 

“Hey, Betty?”

_ “Yeah?” _

“You have my heart?” Archie asked, hoping that Betty would remember their little catch-phrase. 

Even through the phone, Archie could hear Betty’s grin as she replied,  _ “Always. And do you have mine?” _

“Always,” Archie replied, hanging up with a grin on his face.

Archie could remember the day that they created that catch-phrase between them. He had just told Betty that he was being sent back to Afghanistan earlier than expected. He had grasped her head between his hands, gazed into her eyes and said,  _ “The Army may have my body, but you, Elizabeth Cooper, will always have my heart.” _

It had been meant as a way to calm Betty, to reassure her that his body was going to fight like hell to return home to her-his heart. From that day on, it became a ritual between them. Every letter, phone call, or farewell ended the same way-with a reminder that their heart was with the other-even after they broke up. 

Archie still had a grin on his face when he called Jughead. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Core Four have an awkward reintroduction to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attacks

Betty had struggled to contain the excitement inside her that arose at the prospect of seeing Archie again. Despite everything that had happened between them, she still considered Archie Andrews to be her best friend (though _friends_ definitely did not share the history they did) and it would be good to see him again. 

Upon arriving at Pop’s, Betty discovered that she was the first one to arrive. She quickly ordered her old order of a vanilla milkshake and took a seat at the booth that she and her friends had claimed for years. The only difference this time was that Betty claimed a seat that overlooked the entrance of the diner. While it disrupted the usual seating arrangements that they had all silently agreed upon in high school, Betty’s FBI training refused to allow her to sit with her back to the door. Four years chasing the worst of criminals tended to do that to a person. 

It wasn’t long before Veronica joined her. 

“Betty Cooper. Long time, no see,” Veronica said, bringing Betty into a tight, warm hug that immediately reminded Betty of how much she had truly _missed_ her best friend. 

They had once promised each other that they would never let a boy get in between their friendship. Betty regretted the way that they left things, breaking that friendship over something they had promised to never allow. It was partially the reason why Betty had never reached out. 

She knew that Archie stopped talking to Veronica after he left for basic. The reason why Betty never reached out to her friend was because she and Archie _had_ remained in contact. But based off the giant rock on her finger that Betty had clocked almost immediately, then Veronica had moved on from Archie. 

“It’s good to see you, V.”

“Good to see you, too, B.”

They sat down in the booth, Veronica raising a perfectly-shaped eyebrow in her direction at the change of seating. Thankfully, Veronica said nothing. 

“So, what have you been doing with yourself?” Veronica asked. 

“Well, after I graduated from Yale, I joined the FBI. Been working out of the Quantico field office for the past two years in the violent crimes division.”

It was a temporary position at best. Betty’s goal was to join the Behavioral Analysis Unit as a profiler one day. She was still _very_ early into her career at the Bureau, so it was unlikely that she would be able to join until she had more experience. 

Agents tended to bounce from unit to unit, going wherever the FBI told them to go. So far, Betty had only worked in the violent crimes unit, but it had given her exposure to a few high profile cases-like the Trash Bag Killer. 

“Damn, B. I don’t know whether to congratulate you or bless you.”

“I think I could take both,” Betty joked, using humor to deflect from how _violent_ the violent crimes division really was. She had spent far too many nights, lying awake, with images from her cases plastered to her eyelids. 

“Good point,” Veronica laughed as well. 

“So, what about you? And who’s the lucky guy that managed to charm the ‘Queen of Wall Street’ off her feet?”

Veronica smirked at Betty. “Still just as observant as ever, aren’t you?”

“Hard habit to shake, I guess.”

For the next few minutes, Veronica dramatically retold the story of how she and her husband, Chadwick, met, fell in love, and got married. Betty listened calmly while occasionally sipping on her vanilla milkshake. Though Betty was fully listening to Veronica, she was also instantly aware of everything going on around-including when Jughead Jones walked through the front doors. 

If Betty had to choose _one_ thing that she regretted the most about the events that transpired seven years ago, breaking Jughead’s heart the way she did would be it. 

Loving Jughead had been easy; it had been the safe option. She had needed time to heal from being turned down by Archie and Jughead had been there when no one else was. Betty knew now that she had simply tricked herself into thinking her feelings for Archie had disappeared. For so long, she had believed that she had moved on from her childhood crush. But there were far too many instances where Betty had naturally sought out help or comfort from Archie instead of Jughead. 

Betty knew it was wrong-how she and Archie had strung Jughead and Veronica, respectively, along while they denied their feelings for each other, at least until their feelings grew too much to be ignored any longer. She regretted that their friendships-forged through hell-had simply collapsed as they all went their separate ways. 

Jughead approached their table, looking older and more weary than Betty had ever seen him. Yet there was a lightness there as well that Betty recognized as Jughead happy to be home. 

“Hey, mind if I join you?” Jughead said once he reached the table. 

“You don’t even have to ask,” Veronica said, instantly scooting over to give Jughead some room. Betty released a sigh of relief as he sat down across from her. Not because she was happy to have some space from him-which she was-but because Betty _hated_ being confined. It was a trigger of hers that she developed fairly early into her time with the FBI, but her ordeal with the TBK had exacerbated everything to the point where she avoided it at all costs. 

“It’s been awhile,” Jughead said after a few moments of awkward silence. 

“Sure has,” Betty said with a smile that she knew failed to reach her eyes. “Veronica was just telling me about her wedding.”

Immediately, Veronica launched into the entire story from the very beginning. Betty hid a grin; Veronica was nothing if not predictable. 

She pretended to not notice Jughead’s glances in her direction-a definite sign that he had picked up on her avoidance tactics. 

Thankfully, they did not have to wait much longer before Archie and a _very_ pregnant Toni entered Pop’s. They briefly spoke with Pop before Archie turned around and locked eyes with Betty. All the feelings that Betty had been trying to repress for the past year reappeared in an instant. It was like no time had passed. 

* * *

As soon as Pop mentioned how _everyone_ was back, Archie spun around and found three familiar figures sitting in _their_ booth. His gaze locked on one figure in particular. 

Her hair was a little longer than he remembered and she wore a light layer of makeup, but other than that everything was the same. She wore a blazer, presumably to cover up the tattoos on her forearms that only Archie knew about. Her left arm was positioned in a way to force her shoulder to relax-a habit she had developed after taking a bullet to that shoulder on a case her first year on the job. The green eyes that he had always been entranced with had traces of a smile in them that Archie knew was reflected back at him.

A year without Betty had felt like a lifetime. The days had seemed a little less brighter and the nights so much darker without her there beside him. After he was injured in Afghanistan before being sent back to the States, there had been a brief moment where Archie feared he would never see Betty again. Such a possibility seemed so _painful_ and _meaningless_ that he had vowed to himself that would never happen. 

Archie felt Toni give him a little push from behind, which propelled him forward to their booth. He caught the tail end of the conversation-something about flowers and someone named Chadwick?-as he approached. 

“Archie!” Betty grinned, interrupting whatever Veronica was going to say next. 

“Hey guys. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course we came, Archie. Riverdale is home,” Veronica replied. 

“Alright, I’ll leave you guys to it,” Toni said, backing up to leave. 

“No, wait!” Archie said, gently grabbing her elbow. “You’re part of this, too, Toni.”

Betty slid out of the booth and said, “Here, you can sit by me.”

“Thanks, Betty,” Toni said as she slid into the booth, surprisingly agile for a pregnant woman. Betty remained standing as she and Archie silently debated who would sit in the middle. 

Seating arrangements was always a huge challenge for them. 

Archie knew that, like him, Betty was not a fan of confined spaces or having her back to an exit. Neither of them were truly ever off the clock; the instincts that saved their lives in the field did not exactly have an off button. 

When they were dating, they avoided the traditional movie theater dates (too dark, too confined, and no exit in their direct line of sight) and only occasionally did the fancy dinner thing. They mainly stuck to restaurants where they could _choose_ their own table, which was always a process in of itself, bars (where the alcohol helped dull those instincts), or just getting takeout. On the few times that they _did_ go to a fancy restaurant, one of them was usually left feeling anxious and panicked at not being able to have a clear exit. 

And while Archie _hated_ that panicked feeling that enveloped him every time he was in a confined space, he would willingly go through it a thousand times so Betty never had to. Plus, he had another, much more personal, reason to sit in between Betty and Toni. She would never admit that it bothered her, but Archie knew Betty better than anyone. 

“I’ll go first, Betty. You were here first,” Archie offered, moving to go sit. 

Betty slightly blocked his path, unafraid of him, even though she knew _exactly_ what he was capable of. “That’s ridiculous. I’ll go first.”

“Betty, I insist.”

“One of you just sit in the damn booth please,” Toni interrupted. “This baby keeps kicking my bladder, and if we don’t finish this conversation soon, I am not responsible for what happens.”

Archie took the opportunity to slide inside the booth first as Betty was still processing what Toni said. Sighing, Betty followed Archie a few seconds later. 

As she slid in the booth, Archie’s body immediately went tense with anxiety. He clenched his hands into fists underneath the table so hard that he was sure they were white. His breathing became erratic and flashes of memories that Archie had repressed were starting to make their way to the surface. Just as he started slipping into a panic attack, he heard Betty’s voice, guiding him back to the present. 

One of her hands had found its way to his, gently squeezing his hand in a pattern of threes. _I love you_. The memories faded and Archie felt like he could finally breathe again. Even after Archie had calmed down, Betty kept her hand in his, grounding him to the here and now. 

The others were silent, staring at Archie with poorly-concealed concern and ( _damn it_ ) pity. Only Betty looked at him without pity in her eyes. “You okay, man?” Jughead asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Archie replied. “Just a bit tired, that’s all.”

Betty squeezed his hand again in the same pattern. _I love you_. She knew what “fine” meant. 

“You sure?”

“Looks fine to me,” Betty said, deflecting attention away from Archie. “So, what’s going on here? Why does everything around here look so _empty_?” 

This time, Archie squeezed Betty’s hand three times- _I love you_ -to thank her for getting the attention off his almost-panic attack. She responded in kind. And with that catastrophe averted, Archie launched into the story behind why he called them all back to Riverdale. 

* * *

The sun had long set by the time that they all left Pop’s. 

Toni had had to go to the bar below the diner, leaving the Core Four alone for the first time since they all left Riverdale. Somehow, they had all ended up walking home with their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. Betty assumed that they all felt that they needed to clear the air, and doing it with their ex instead of the best friend that they hurt deely, was the easiest option. 

For most of the walk, Betty and Jughead had been silent, unsure of how to proceed. 

“Why didn’t you ever reach out?” Jughead asked, breaking the awkward silence first. 

Betty sighed, “I didn’t think you wanted me to after that voicemail the night of your book launch.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

About a year and a half after they left Riverdale, Jughead published his first book-the one that he had started writing after Jason Blossom’s murder. Betty really _had_ wanted to go, but she was neck deep in midterms at the time and couldn’t get a flight out to attend the book launch. Later that night, she received a voicemail from Jughead, who was clearly drunk. He had mostly yelled at her, letting out all the pent-up emotions from Betty and Archie’s actions senior year. He ended the call by saying that he never wanted to see Betty again. 

Betty would have disregarded the voicemail completely if it were not for the saying that _“drunk words are sober thoughts”_ . She had a feeling in her gut that Jughead _really_ felt what he said in the voicemail, so she had respected his wishes. She never reached out to _try_ and repair their friendship (because by that point, she knew that her heart belonged to Archie). 

“It was a long time ago, Jughead.”

“I read your book, by the way.”

“What did you think?”

“It was really good from a literary standpoint,” Betty replied. She had read the book when it first came out and loved it, though she was sure that some others in Riverdale felt differently about it. 

“That’s all?”

“Honestly, I was just more surprised by the fact that you never released a second book.”

“I’m still working on it,” Jughead replied, a slight edge to his voice. 

Betty nodded, understanding from personal experience and countless difficult conversations with Archie to know when to drop a sensitive subject. She did not know _why_ his second book was a sore topic, but she respected his boundaries. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt his feelings again.

They came to a stop outside the Cooper residence. The house still looked the same from the outside, but so much had changed on the inside. 

Her mom was pretty much the only caretaker/guardian of the twins since Polly never seemed to be around much anymore (something that Betty promised to herself to investigate). Betty mainly tiptoed around them all, not used to the “new normal” in the house that she had missed as she went to college and pursued a career with the FBI. And while her room looked the same as it was when she left for Yale, Betty had felt out of place there as soon as she walked back inside. 

“You’re welcome to stay. My mom would be really happy to have you stay on the couch. This was once your home, too,” Betty offered. Even as she offered, she knew what his answer would be. They both did. 

“This place hasn’t been home in a long time,” Jughead replied. 

She knew what he meant. Jughead had felt at home in the Cooper residence because _Betty_ had been his home. Her childhood house no longer felt like home to her, either. That honor resided with a red headed soldier with a heart of gold-even though they were no longer together. 

“In that case, you have somewhere to stay?”

“Yeah,” Jughead replied, walking away. “See you in the morning.”

“See you tomorrow,” Betty said. She watched him walk away for a moment before she turned around and walked inside the house, ready for whatever surprises happened to await her inside. 

* * *

“That’s some rock, Ronnie. Must be one lucky guy,” Archie commented as he walked Veronica back to the Pembrooke. While he would have preferred to have walked back home with Betty so they could at least _begin_ the conversation that he had been preparing a year for, it was good to see Veronica. 

“Chad is a great guy,” Veronica said. 

“Sorry I missed the wedding.”

“I wanted to invite you, Archie. I really did. But I had no idea where to send the invite...and it wasn’t like I really knew where to send it to,” Veronica apologized. “Besides, my wedding to another guy was not really the time or place to work out everything between us.”

Archie waved off her concern. “It’s all good. I get it.”

“So...bugle boy, anyone interesting in your life?”

Immediately, a blonde with dazzling green eyes popped into his head. But that was the one answer that Archie could not tell Veronica. 

It wasn’t like he was ashamed of his relationship with Betty or that he was afraid of their friends’ reactions to it. Archie knew that Veronica would be happy for them, even if she was a little surprised or hurt that they had stayed in contact while not speaking to anyone else. The thing holding him back was the fact that he and Betty weren’t even _together_ anymore. 

“Afraid not. The Army has kept me too busy to date.”

“I know that the Army was sort of a last-ditch plan for you. Do you enjoy it?”

“I wouldn’t really say that I _enjoyed_ it, per se. I enjoyed the camaraderie that it provided me-especially once I completed my Ranger training. Got to see some interesting places. Meet interesting people,” Archie tensed as they moved onto the subject of his time in the Army. He was proud to have served his country-to have known amazing men and women that _died_ for it-but Archie would not say that he _enjoyed_ his service. 

“Sorry if I hit a nerve,” Veronica started to say. 

Archie interrupted her by saying, “Don’t worry about it. I get it all the time.”

“It’s crazy, isn’t it? How much things have changed in seven years? You’re in the Army, Betty joined the FBI, Jughead is a successful author, and I’m married.”

“I’m sorry about the way we left things, Ronnie. It was never my intention to hurt you-”

“That is water _long_ under the bridge, Archie. Senior year was _seven years ago_. We were all different people back then. Let’s just promise not to lose touch again, okay? I missed you.”

Archie grinned. “I missed you too.”

They enjoyed a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Veronica broke it by stating something that Archie did not expect. 

“We were friends before we were anything else, Archie, so as your _friend_ , I am asking you about what happened between you and Betty? You looked pretty panicked back at Pop’s and she talked you down really quick, especially since you supposedly haven’t seen each other in seven years.”

He glanced in her eyes. Even after all these years, he could still read the emotions that showed in her eyes, no matter how much she tried to hide them. Veronica was asking him to be honest with her. 

“Betty and I stayed in contact,” Archie admitted. “We both have our demons from the Army and the FBI. Having someone there who understood helped. _That’s_ how she knew what to do. We parted ways right before my final tour on _strained_ but animable terms. We haven’t seen each other in about a year.”

Veronica seemed to take a few moments to absorb what Archie had just told her. “Never meant to ice you out, Ronnie.”

“So...something _did_ happen between you two.”

“It’s complicated. We started dating three years ago. Things were going _really_ well for us and then something happened to Betty. Instead of talking about it and sharing our feelings about it, I shut down and ended up icing her out. Things came to a head one night and Betty called things off. We still talked, even after the break-up, but not about what happened.”

“Guess some things haven’t changed,” Veronica commented. 

“And what’s that?”

“You still love Betty just as much, if not more than, you did in high school. Betty is one of a kind, Archie Andrews. Don’t let her slip away for good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something I want to make clear-in case the show goes a different route-is that the characters in this story are mature adults who only want the best for each other. They all understand that mistakes were made during their senior year, but they understand why those decisions were made and moved on from them a long time ago. 
> 
> For those possibly wondering why Veronica found out first about Barchie, I decided to make her first because it is just in her nature. Veronica strikes me as an observant individual, even if she does not look like it, so she obviously noticed how Betty and Archie interacted at Pop's. Given their awkward interaction and how quickly Betty was able to calm him from a panic attack and naturally deflect attention from him, Veronica believed that they were together at some point. And because it has been seven years and Veronica has moved on, she gives him some advice about Betty because she only wants her friends to be with each other. Like I said, they are mature adults. 
> 
> On the other hand, Jughead and Betty are SO not there yet. I imagine that the voicemail Jughead left her must have hurt a lot because I don't see Betty as the kind of person to shut out Jughead-someone she deeply cares about-for seven years. They have a bit of a longer road to reconciliation than the others do, which is why neither of them get into anything too personal during their conversation. They will get there eventually. It's just going to take more time. 
> 
> If you've read this long author's note to this point, then you receive a special gift: I've left a very subtle hint about the reason behind Archie and Betty's break-up in this chapter. See if you can figure out what it is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Archie have trouble sleeping. They end up sparring and beginning the difficult conversation surrounding the reason why they broke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I had a version of it fully written and ready to post, but I kept coming up with different ideas, which led to several different versions of this chapter. Eventually, I comprised and combined two versions of the chapter. Hopefully, the fourth chapter will be up sometime next week. Thank you all for your love and support of this story. I truly appreciate it!
> 
> So, while writing this chapter, I somehow developed the headcannon that Archie taught Betty some moves that he learned in the Rangers (yes, Archie is an Army Ranger in this story) and that they spar on nights when neither of them can sleep. It was going to be a lighthearted chapter with lots of fluff, but then I decided to throw in a few breadcrumbs regarding the mystery surrounding their breakup a year before this story takes place. You're welcome.

Veronica's words echoed in his head for the rest of the night. Archie was used to having trouble sleeping, but tonight it was for an entirely different reason.

He spent most of the night in the ring, working out his emotions as he fought an invisible enemy. It was approaching two thirty when Archie's ears picked up the sound of his phone ringing. At this hour, there was only one person who would be calling him.

Archie raced over to his phone to answer it. "Betty?" He panted.

_"Sorry, did I wake you?"_

"We both know that I wasn't sleeping."

_"Rough night?"_

"We both have rough nights more often than not these days."

_"Fair point. Where are you staying?"_

"El Royale. At least until I can get the Ghoulies out of my house."

_"Archie...why didn't you tell me?! I would have convinced my mom to let you stay on the couch or something here!"_

The redhead sighed and leaned against a corner of the ring. "Honestly, the last thing either of us need right now is your mom or Polly raising questions about our relationship."

_"Still having the nightmares?"_

"Always. You?"

_"Always. Mind if I come over?"_

"You know that I never mind when it comes to you."

Betty huffed out a laugh as she said, _"Be there in twenty."_

* * *

Exactly twenty minutes later, Betty was entering the boxing ring. She caught the wraps that Archie tossed her way, quickly wrapped her knuckles, and then grabbed some mitts from the edge of the ring.

"Glad to see that we are still insomnia buddies," Archie said as Betty climbed inside. He did nothing to hide how his eyes ran over Betty's body, which was shown off in her short running shorts and black sports bra. It was definitely something much more revealing than Betty would have ever worn in high school (had to maintain the perfect girl-next-door moniker), but there were few to no boundaries between the two of them now. Besides obviously checking her out, Archie was also mentally cataloging her body for any new scars. There were a few scars from their childhood, a bullet wound scar on her left shoulder from her second year in the FBI, and a few scattered ones that Archie recognized as ones she received from various injuries from chasing criminals. As far as he could tell, there were no new scars to see (at least not physically ).

There was no shame in their scars, at least not with each other. In Archie's mind, each scar was a physical reminder of just how hard they both had to fight to get back to each other.

Just as he knew all of Betty's scars, she knew all of his. Besides the scars he had from their various adventures during childhood, Archie also had a scar from when he was shivved in juvie. He had countless other scars from his time in the Army, including a few bullet wounds, stab wounds, and even one wound that he received from shrapnel (a parting gift from his last tour).

"I think the twins might be responsible for this time. They are probably the most noisy sleepers ever, which is saying something."

Archie could read between the lines. Both of them were wary of sleeping in unfamiliar places, especially with people that they did not trust. The Cooper residence might have once felt like home, but Archie knew that years of constant danger and paranoia had made Betty unrecognizable from the young woman that left for Yale seven years ago.

"I get it."

"So, what's the cause of your insomnia tonight?" Betty asked as she moved into position across from Archie with her fists raised in front of her face.

"Tell you when we're done," Archie said, taking a few swings at her.

"Scared that I'll beat you if you're distracted?" She asked, easily side-stepping his attack.

"Hell no."

Archie bit his words a mere minute later. He grinned through his slight groan of pain as Betty managed to get his feet out from under him, forcing him to fall on his back on the mat. Hard. "You've been practicing."

"I spar with a few of the guys over at Quantico a few times a week. One of them is a former Ranger."

"Then that should make things more interesting."

"You mean as in I'll beat you? Damn right, Andrews," Betty replied with a smirk on her face.

"Not if I have anything to say about it, Cooper ," Archie said, getting up and moving his hands back into position.

Archie had always been athletic, but the FBI had really changed Betty. To be the best at her job did not always mean having the biggest brain; a hefty dose of brawn was needed, too. All FBI agents knew basic disarm techniques. A dedicated few went further and studied combat techniques more extensively. Betty was one of those agents.

When he was in town, Archie had taken it upon himself to help teach Betty a few techniques he learned in the Army, especially on nights when neither of them could sleep. It was a good way to burn energy and a good way to keep their skills sharp.

Betty had definitely been sparring as much as she said she did-as she proved several times over. Archie had no problem with losing a few rounds. It was a reminder not to underestimate her. It was also obvious that Betty had been sparring with a former Ranger. She used techniques that Archie himself had learned from his brothers in the service with an ease that spoke of experience using them.

It was approaching four when they decided to call it quits. They both stood in different corners of the mat, breathing shallowly from the exertion.

"I have to say that I'm impressed," Archie said, laughing a little.

"What? You thought I wouldn't keep practicing so I could beat your ass?" Betty said, feigning shock. She tossed one of her gloves in Archie's direction, which he easily dodged.

"No, no, no," Archie replied. "It's just been a little while since I've been able to spar with someone just for fun, you know?"

"I get it. Been awhile for me too."

"She thinks that something happened between the two of us."

"Wait a second…" Betty froze. "What?"

"When I was walking Veronica back to her place tonight, she thought that something happened between us. She noticed how awkward we were with the booth and she must have noticed how tense I was feeling, but mistook that for sitting next to you instead of...you know," Archie said, waving his hand in Betty's direction as a way to silently tell her how anxious he was to not have a clear exit back at Pop's. Archie did not like talking about his triggers, which he knew Betty understood, even if she did not understand the specific stories behind it.

"Does Veronica know about...us?"

Archie nodded. "She guessed that something happened between us.”

"Moving away from the part of that statement that I am not ready to deal with, what did Vanessa say?"

"She said that if my feelings are as real for you as they appeared to be in high school, then I shouldn't waste any more time pretending they aren't."

If he was being honest with himself, Archie would proudly admit that his feelings for Betty had only grown since high school. She was more than his best friend. She was someone who understood the nightmares that plagued him every time he closed his eyes. Someone who saw his demons for what they were and never judged him or shied away. Someone who felt the same darkness inside that he did and only pulled him closer in because of it. The relationship Archie had with Betty was the most intimate relationship of his life, even without sex.

"And that's all she said?"

"That's all she said, Betts."

"I guess Veronica is still just as perceptive as always. We'll have to be more careful around her then."

"Careful? Betty, we aren't even in a relationship!"

"You and I both know that is a lie. Honestly, I don't know what we are. We're not in a relationship with each other, but I know that we are something more than just friends or exes. The lines are just so blurry right now that it's impossible to say."

" One word from you, Betty. That's all that it would take for all that confusion to go away," Archie said, walking over to Betty.

As they stood across from each other in the middle of the ring, Betty gazed up into his eyes and said, "We broke up because we had issues."

"I get that."

"No, I don't think that you really do, Archie! We had issues, but we never talked about those issues!"

Deciding to just the bullet, Archie surged forward and crashed his lips against hers. Betty immediately responded, running her hands through his messy hair and pulling him closer. Lingering adrenaline from their sparring combined with the adrenaline from their argument made Archie feel high like no drug could ever accomplish. He supposed that Betty Cooper was his addiction and it was one that he had no desire to kick any time soon.

Archie took advantage of Betty's state of undress and began trailing kisses down her neck and across her collarbone before making his way back up to her lips. It seemed like eternity passed before Betty slowly pulled away, her wrapped hands coming down from his head to rest on his bare chest.

"How is that an issue?" Archie whispered, refusing to move his hands from her face. For just a moment, he wanted to savor in everything Betty Cooper.

"Love was never the issue for us," Betty replied quietly.

"Then what was?"

"You know what the issue was. You shut down on me, Archie. You refused to tell me how you were feeling. I never knew what was going on inside your head!"

Archie scoffed, letting go of Betty and walking to the edge of the ring as he rubbed his forehead in frustration. "That's a lie. I told you exactly what I was feeling about Afghanistan!"

"Not after what happened," Betty shook her head. "After the incident, you just shut down. You stopped telling me what you were feeling. It was like I was dating a stranger sometimes!"

"Maybe I was struggling to come to terms with what happened," Archie replied.

"Then, you should have told me that! If you had told me that you just needed time to figure out what you were feeling about everything, then I would have backed off and given you the time that you needed. But I never heard that from you."

"And what about you?" Archie asked. "You never told me how you were feeling."

"By the time that it really sunk in for me what happened, you had already shut down. You pretended like it didn't even happen. Eventually, I couldn't take that anymore."

Archie sighed and walked back over to Betty. He wrapped her up in his arms and stared straight into her eyes and said, "How do I make this right?"

"You can't. It's just who you are ."

"I've told you before that I would do anything to get you back. That hasn't changed, Betty."

"I don't want you to change who you are, Archie. I had a crush on little Archie and high school Archie, but you are the version of Archie Andrews that I fell in love with."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Archie asked as feelings of confusion and crushing despair at the possibility of never getting Betty back filled his entire being.

Betty shrugged. "I really don't know, Archie. I wish I did. I really wish I did."

* * *

**_Quantico, Virginia_ **

**_Three years ago…_ **

_Archie groaned as he opened his eyes and was immediately assaulted by bright sunlight-courtesy of the open blinds. He snapped his eyes closed again, feeling the aftereffects of a long night and early morning. If he saw or drank alcohol in the next month, Archie had a feeling he might just throw up on the spot. But that was a problem for later._

_He turned over in bed and froze when he felt something warm and firm against his arm. Slowly opening his eyes, Archie was surprised to be face-to-face with a tattoo that was unmistakable to him. It was an infinity symbol with the words,_ “I have your heart” _and_ “Always” _embedded in the actual infinity symbol with a scar of a bullet wound in between the loops._

_Betty._

_He was there when she got the tattoo, when she said that maybe having their_ thing _on her skin would serve as some sort of compass-a way to make sure he always came home to her. He had spent_ weeks _looking at that very tattoo as he changed the dressing of the bullet wound that went straight through one of the loops of the infinity, trying to reassure her that she was still just as beautiful as ever. And he had spent countless sleepless nights staring at the tattoo as he and Betty shared a bed, trying to wonder what it would be like if Betty knew how much he really loved her._

_Immediately, Archie noticed their states of undress and rolled away from Betty in shock. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to process what exactly happened the night before._

_Most of the night was unfortunately a blur to him-as he expected._

_Yesterday had been the funeral of one of Archie’s friends that he had met in basic, which had more of an impact on him than he would willingly admit to himself. After the funeral, the guys in his unit had suggested going out to get some drinks and Archie, had of course, accepted._

_Throughout it all, Betty had been by his side. She always was._

_After leaving Riverdale for basic training, Archie had not even really tried to maintain contact with his old friends. Training took up all his time and energy. Surprisingly, all of his friends_ let _it happen, too. All except for Betty._

_They talked on the phone all the time or when they couldn’t do that, they wrote each other letters (and Archie kept each and every one she sent). He visited her on holidays and, together, they would spend a few days with his mom in Chicago. Betty and his mom even coordinated their trips to his graduation and were among the loudest to cheer once they saw him._

_They were in flux for a bit while Archie was stationed across the country, but things eventually stabilized between them once Archie managed to get stationed near Quantico with Betty. He was unable to be there for her graduation from Yale (which his mom attended and videotaped for him), but he was there for her graduation from the FBI Academy._

_No matter what happened, Betty was always there showing her support. Yesterday had been no different for them._

_She had somehow managed to leave work early to attend the funeral and had been invited to join the guys out drinking (after years of attending unit barbecues, Betty was practically one of the guys). Archie knew that they had all gotten drunk-his current hangover was evidence enough-but he was not sure how he got to Betty’s apartment or how they ended up in bed together-naked._

_“Crap,” Archie said, running a hand through his-no doubt-messy hair._

_This was a disaster._

_Archie knew that they were just_ friends. _At least on Betty’s end. Archie was still just in love with her as he was in high school, but the last thing he wanted to do was jeopardize the best friendship in his life._

_He stared at the ceiling for a long time, trying to figure out what to do, until the problem was solved for him. Betty woke up with a groan, rolling over to lie on her back. She must have sensed his body heat as she turned her head to look at him, clearly confused._

_“Archie?”_

_“Hey,” he replied, instantly regretting it once he said it._

_“Ugh….what the hell happened last night?”_

_He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Honestly, I don’t remember much after Luke ordered the fifth round of tequila shots.”_

_“I’m going to_ kill _Luke the next time I see him,” Betty groaned, rubbing her forehead. Clearly, she felt just as bad as Archie did. “Did we sleep together last night?”_

_He knew it wouldn’t be long before Betty caught on to their situation. Even hungover, she still had her FBI agent instincts on (even if they were a bit impaired from said hangover) and caught little things that most people, including Archie, would never catch at first glance._

_“I think so.”_

_“I’m going to kill Luke.”_

_“So….where do you want to go from here?” Archie asked after a moment of silence._

_“We can’t do this again, Archie.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“You_ know _why. We really hurt Jughead and Veronica senior year,” Betty replied._

_Archie rolled over to look Betty straight in the eyes. “Betts...neither of us have spoken to Jughead or Veronica in five years. We’ve walked a fine line for all that time.”_

_“And what? You think that the liquid courage we had last night allowed us to do something that we’ve been wanting to do since high school?”_

_“Well...at least I know that I’m not the only one who theoretically enjoyed last night.”_

_“I’m being serious, Arch,” she said, grabbing a pillow from the floor and smacking him in the face with it. Archie groaned in mock pain before he removed the pillow, revealing the giant grin he was wearing underneath._

_“Betty, I’m being serious too. I might not remember what_ exactly _happened between us last night, but I do know that I don’t regret it happening. My feelings for you haven’t changed; they never will change.”_

_Betty bit her lip in a way that told Archie that she was trying to reign in her emotions. “My feelings for you haven’t changed either.”_

_“Really?” Archie looked at her with a hopeful look in his eye and a boyish grin that made Betty throw all her self-control out the window. She leaned in and kissed him, quickly moving so that she was straddling him. Archie, of course, had no problem with her taking the reins. It was what he had been waiting for for seventeen years after all._

_“That was amazing._ You _are amazing,” Archie breathed out as they separated for air._

_“Not so bad yourself,” she grinned back from above._

_“So, does that mean that you want to do this?”_

_“Do you think I could possibly fake that kiss?”_

_“You’re an FBI agent. How the hell am I supposed to know?”_

_“Okay. I guess I better get dressed for work then,” Betty teased, moving to get off Archie, who did not hesitate to pull her back to him._

_“I just discovered that the girl I’ve been in love with for seventeen years loves me back and wants to date me. You’re going nowhere.”_

_“Better convince me to stay then.”_

_“Yes, ma’am.”_

_And as best friends shifted to lovers, both of them wondered how they could have possibly waited_ seventeen years _before finally confessing and acting on their feelings when it already felt like the best thing in the world._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I ended up adding some fluff at the end. I couldn't resist. 
> 
> When I originally started writing this story, I did not plan on writing flashbacks. But then I realized that, in my writing, I had unintentionally included a lot of mystery regarding their previous relationship and how they built up their relationship to the point where they are now. I don't plan on having flashbacks every chapter, but you can definitely start expecting them after Barchie have difficult conversations. I also plan on slowly progressing through the flashbacks until we get to the break-up. 
> 
> Until next time.


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